shooting slingshots

Title

Red, Yellow, and Blue Thera-band slingshots what shoots the furthest?

Broad Question

Using rubber bands to shoot marbles

Specific Question

Do different types of Thera-band effect how far a marble shoots on a slingshot?

Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that thicker types of Thera-band will send a projectile a 40% further distance using a slingshot than thinner Thera-band

Rationale: Most slingshots use thick latex rubber Thera-band because it propels an object a greater distance than thinner Thera-band would.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Type of Thera-band

Dependent Variable:

The distance the marble shoots

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

The same slingshot frame.

Same pull length.

All shots were taken out side.

All shots were shot on flat ground.

No wind during experiment.

Same shooting angle.

Same marble.

Knots tied at the same length.

Same person shooting.

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Thera-band

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General Plan

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

Hitting people and animals - Shoot the slingshot in a non populated area.

Protective eye ware.

Experimental Design

For the design the experimenter will need to find a “Y” branch and make sure each end is the same length. Drill a hole through each end of the top of the branch. Three different types of Thera-band need to be blue, green, and Yellow need to be collected. For each trial use a different Thera-band, tie one end of the Thera-band to one of the top of the “Y” branches and the other end to the other branch. To shoot the slingshot put a large marble in the Thera-band and pull it back and down to the joint of the experimenter's arm, and fire. Use a long tape measure to measure the distance from where you were standing to where the marble landed. and record it on the graph for each color Thera-band.

Resources and Budget Table

Material List
Item name Size Quantity Description

1 Green Thera -Band length 105.5cm x width 13.5cm 1 Green,Heavy

2 Blue Thera-Band length 128.5cm x width 14cm 1 Blue, Extra/heavy

3 Yellow Thera-Band length 89cm x width 14.1cm 1 Yellow, Thin

4 Marble 1 weight 22.1g, diameter 2.5cm 2 Big marbles
2 weight 18.2 g, diameter 2.3cm

5 Ash tree “Y” branch weight 265.7g x height 31.3cm x
width at top of “Y” 14cm x bottom
of “Y” 3cm

6 Drill bit width 1cm

7 Safety goggles/glasses 1

8 Pen 1

9 Clipboard 1

10 Cambra 1 Cambra need to have
video and picture.
11 Drill 1 Needs to be charged.

Detailed Procedure

Procedure

1. Get a saw and find one “Y” branch from an Ash tree and cut it off of the tree.

2. Measure the both of the top of the “Y” branches from the bottom and make sure each of the branches are the same length.

3. Then take a 1cm width drill bit and drill a hole at the top of the two “Y” parts.Now take a blue Thare-band 128.5cm long and 14.cm wide. Get a green Thera-band 105.5cm long and 13.5cm wide and now take a yellow Thera-band thats 89.cm long and 14.1cm wide.

4. Then tie one end of one Thera-band in the hole and the other end in the other hole. (IMPORTANT make sure that each Thera-band that will be pulled back needs to be the same length behind the “Y” part of the slingshot)
5. Now take a big marble and put it in the middle of the Thera-band and pull it back and down to the joint of your arm and let it go. It should probably be shot in shallow snow because it will stop instead of rolling away.
6. After the slingshot has been shot take a tape measure and mesir from where you were standing to where the projectile landed.
7. There will be 8 trials, After each trial is finished untie the Thera-band and tie a different color Thera-band the same way the other Thera-band was tied.
8. Then write down the distance the marble went on the chart in meters and centimeters.

Diagram

Photo List

Time Line

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Data Table

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Graphs

Photos

Shooting slingshot with blue Thera-Band

Results

The average distance for the blue Thera-band was 16.3 meters. For the green Thera-band, the average distance was 14.8 meters. For the yellow Thera-band the average distance was 12.1 meters. The Thera-band that was the thickest and heaviest shot the marble the furthest distance.

Conclusion

The experiment was designed to test if different types of Thera-band would depend on the distance of how far a marble shoots. The results show that the thicker the Thera-band the farther a marble will shoot. The average distance for blue Thera-band was 16.3 meters, for the green Thera-band the, distance was 14.8 meters, and for the yellow Thera-band the distance was 12.1 meters.

Discussion

The question of the experiment was, will different types of Thera-band effect how far a marble will shoot on a slingshot. The experiment question was answered, the type of Thera-band did affect the distance of the marble. I under estimated the distances of the slingshot for my hypothesis, but for the more thicker Thera-band I guessed further distances and shorter distances of the thinner Thera-band. The lengths in meters of the marble is what was hypothesised. The results and question supported the hypothesis.
The results were measured in meter of the distances the marble traveled, it provided the answer for the Question. There were 8 trials which averaged to be 16.3, 14.8175, and 12.115 meters. There was a trend in the data. The result show that the blue Thera-band shot the marble further and the yellow Thera-band shot the marble shorter in all but two trials. Because the research that was conducted showed that the yellow was measured as thin, the blue was measured as extra heavy and the green was heavy. Sometimes when the green was shot it had a length measurement that had the same data as the blue, but most of the data is different with blue shooting farther than green.
During the design of the experiment I realized that if I got 3 different “Y” branches they would not be the same which would affect the experiment. I also used different types of elastics the what were planned. I was planning on using different types of rubber band but then I changed it to different types of Thera-band which are latex exercise bands. Things that could have been changed to get different results were to use a different type of wood and use a bigger variety of Thera-band. The only technologies that were used was a flip camera, to record video and pictures to show how the data was collected. This experiment could benefit people who hunt animals for food. If a hunter uses a slingshot to hunt animals that are at a far distance they could use a thicker elastic to hit that animal. New questions and experiments that could be studied is, “Does Latex Rubber launch a marble a greater distance on a slingshot than other types of rubber?”

Background Research

For a slingshot you should use dry wood instead of wet wood because wet wood can crack but wet wood can also be flimsy it can put some power in each shot. The size of the wood for the slingshot can affect the shot. If you hold the sling shot down below your head instead of up to your eye to aim you can prevent the risk of injury and have just as good accuracy. Surgical tubing works better than heavy duty rubber bands because of its shape and thickness. The weight of the projectile can affect the distance it goes if it is heavy it will go a shorter distance than a lighter projectile. If you double up the bands on each side it can make the projectile go further.

__http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Sling-Shot__

Thera-Band® resistive exercise systems cost much less than other exercise equipment sold with claims of achieving similar results, plus they are portable and versatile with virtually unlimited uses. Thera-Band exercise bands are highly regarded and used throughout the world.

Latex Band Color	Product Code (6 Yard)	Product Code (50 Yard)
Tan/Extra Thin	#20010	#20110
Yellow/Thin	#20020	#20120
Red/Medium	#20030	#20130
Green/Heavy	#20040	#20140
Blue/Extra Heavy	#20050	#20150
Black/Spcl Heavy	#20060	#20160
Silver /Spr Heavy	#20070	#20170
Gold/Max	#20080	#20180

__http://www.thera-band.com/store/products.php?ProductID=26__

specializes in single-lumen, multi-lumen, custom profile, molded parts, rubber-to-metal bonding, 0.018" ID to 3.00" OD tubing, bump tube, and closed tolerance NRC run prototype & production. NRC offers a quick turnaround and delivery with 24/7 customer service for all of your special needs.
__http://beta.globalspec.com/FeaturedProducts/Detail/NationalRubber/Specialized_Engineering_Medical_Extrusion_products/157765/0?fromSpotlight=1__

Rubber Tubing made from natural latex, what is it? Natural latex rubber tubing has been given many names. Some people call it surgical tubing, exercise or fitness tube, gum rubber tubing, and dipped tubing as well as speargun bands and slingshot bands. Others may simply refer to it as "stretchy tubing".
Natural Latex Rubber Tubing made by PRIMELINE'S "Continuous Dip Process" creates a superior natural latex rubber tubing. The physical properties are better, the quality higher and the colors more vibrant than product manufactured from dry natural or synthetic materials. In addition, Primeline's tubing has only 50 micrograms or less of water extractable protein per gram. This is important since proteins in natural rubber can cause severe allergic reactions in those individuals who are allergic to the types of protein found in natural rubber. This is known as the "latex allergy". No other rubber tubing can claim to have lower protein levels.

__http://www.primelineindustries.com/__

References

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment is to see if thicker types of Thera-band will send a projectile further than a thinner type of Thera-band. It is hypothesized that the blue Thera-band will send a projectile further than the green Thera-band and the yellow Thera-band. In the experiment a slingshot was shot with three different types of Thera-band shooting a big marble. The mean distance found was 16.3 for the blue, 14.8175 for green, and 12.115 for the yellow Thera-band. The results supported the hypothesis that the blue Thera-band would shoot the furthest distance in meters.